Heads begin to roll, Patil out,Chidambaram is new home minister

New Delhi, Nov 30 (PTI) Political heads began to roll today in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror carnage with Home Minister Shivraj Patil finally forced out of the Cabinet and replaced by P Chidambaram who was holding Finance, a portfolio Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took over.

Patil's dismal reign in the key ministry ended this morning after he resigned under the cover of owning moral responsibility for the Mumbai attacks.

The 74-year-old Patil's dogged resistance to step down after earlier terror strikes collapsed after the Congress leadership decided to sacrifice him to cut the party's losses.

Reflecting the intense heat on the government, Chidambaram, who was grappling with the global financial meltdown, was shifted from his Finance ministry office to the neighbouring Home ministerial perch in North Block.

Speculation mounted later that National Security Adviser M K Narayanan had also offered to resign but the Prime Minister's Office said he would be staying on, without confirming or denying whether he had put in his papers.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh may also become a casualty of the Mumbai terror attack. Some top officials at the Centre could also be shunted out.PTI